Volunteers prepare for Remote Area Medical clinic this weekend
Lynn McKinnis spent her Friday morning, Nov. 10, answering questions from dozens of volunteers and staff setting up the Remote Area Medical pop-up clinic in Butler Intermediate High School, the first ever in Butler County.
An eighteen-wheeler truck was parked in the school’s turnaround, full of medical supplies, dental chairs, tarps, X-ray machines and more.
“The trucks come from Tennessee, they came last night,” McKinnis said, the local coordinator for the clinic and an employee of Concordia Lutheran Ministries.
Throughout the course of the weekend, more than 700 volunteers will filter through the school, making it possible for anyone to receive free health, dental and vision screenings, McKinnis said.
She said the entire event has taken 18 months to prepare.
“The hardest work has been the last 12 months,” she said. “Our vision was to involve as much of the community as possible.”
During a tour of the space, McKinnis said members of local fire departments will direct patient traffic. Other volunteers will perform initial patient screenings and dozens of nurses and optometrists, and a dental hygienist will work in areas around the school.
The gymnasium will serve as the dental care area, McKinnis said, and the concrete walls will allow them to perform X-rays and teeth fillings. The library will be a medical care space, where even blood draws will be performed. In the teacher’s conference area, a dark room will be set up for vision care, and a truck outside serves as the vision lab.
“They get your prescription on one side and make your glasses for you to take home,” McKinnis exclaimed.
Additionally, seven meals are being donated by local religious groups and restaurants.
There also will be a community resource hall set up in the building, for people to get follow-up care after they leave the clinic.
Jean Bowen, a program specialist for Center for Community Resources, was setting up with other volunteers in the resource hall. She said she’s part of the group that helped bring the clinic to Butler.
“We’re so excited, the day is finally here,” she said. “I do a lot of volunteer-driven programs. This is the biggest project Butler’s ever seen.”
She stressed this is a community-driven event, and said hundreds of volunteers will work the clinic Saturday and Sunday.
“We’re helping our neighbor, and what better thing can you do than help your neighbors get medical care?” Bowen said.
“This is quality care,” McKinnis said. “The earlier people come, the more they’re guaranteed service.”
The patient parking lot opens at midnight Friday, Nov. 11.
The clinic is open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, and 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, and no ID or medical information is required to be seen.
